The Family in the Values
by actionman81
Summary: Cam and Arastoo move from Washington DC to New York City with their three adopted sons, to try to make a fresh start.
1. Chapter 1

"Pass it over here" Tyler shouted  
"No, this way" Isaiah yelled at his brother  
Jordan Vaziri kicked the ball between his adoptive brothers and made a goal.  
"Come on!" Tyler and Isaiah shouted in unison.  
"Guys, let's go. Pack it in!" Arastoo Vaziri called to his three adoptive sons. "Dinner's ready"  
"Ok Mr. I mean Arast—I mean" Tyler hesitated  
"Coming" Isaiah called back  
"Ok Dad" Jordan nodded and grabbed the soccer ball.  
"Hey" Arastoo smiled, "you called me Dad"  
"I – uh—" Jordan grinned, "I guess I did"  
Inside the house, the three preteens clattered around the kitchen. Cam Vaziri, nee Saroyan and her husband Arastoo filled plates with globs of brown, green and yellow. Meanwhile, the three boys had set the table and were eagerly waiting.  
"Wow, that looks great" Jordan licked his lips  
"What is that?" Tyler made a face at his plate  
Isaiah just poked his food with his fork.  
"Come, guys, give it a try. Cam put a lot of work into it"  
"Doesn't look like it" Tyler joked  
Isaiah elbowed him, "shut up" he whispered  
"Hey, this is good" Jordan took a bite.  
"Cam" Isaiah took a sip of juice and put his glass down, "We still have to get things for school"  
"Don't remind me" Tyler rolled his eyes  
"I know it's hard" Cam began, "moving to a new city, especially over the summer, and having to start all over again"  
"DC was great, what's wrong with staying there?" Tyler moaned, "Its hard enough being the new kids back there, but we got to do it all over again now?"  
"Oh, like you wanted to get shoved into a dumpster every day" Jordan cackled  
"It wasn't bad after the first time" Tyler retorted.  
"It's hard, we understand" Arastoo explained, "New York isn't – hopefully—won't be like DC. People are pretty understanding. I know we're an atypical family, but we're still a family" he looked around from one boy to the next and then took his wife's hand, "You understand that, right?"  
"Sure"  
"Yeah"  
"Of course"  
Cam squeezed his hand. They both had their work cut out for them, both literally and figuratively.  
"Good" Cam smiled, "Let's finish up then" she looked at her family, "and boys"  
"Uh huh"  
"Yeah"  
"I didn't make the dinner tonight. Arastoo did"  
Arastoo grinned as the boys stared at their half eaten meals.

That night, after Cam and Arastoo had gone to bed, the three boys lay awake in the shared bedroom. Voices carried across the room and the three boys talked from each of their respective twin beds.  
"Why'd you have to remind her about shopping?" Tyler groaned, "The last thing I want to think about is school, and dealing with everyone there"  
"You don't even know anyone yet" Jordan noted.  
Tyler threw his pillow at his brother. Jordan batted it back across the room. "Besides" Jordan tried to cheer him up, "It'll give us a chance to have a fresh start"  
"Sure" Tyler rolled his eyes, "I can just see it now- we're the family of rejects, with the terrorist at the head"  
"He's not a terrorist!" Isaiah frowned  
"Duh" Tyler nodded, "but what do you think the other kids will say when they find out our names, our last names!"  
"Shut up, both of you guys" Jordan warned, "You'll wake them up"  
"It's bad enough we get dragged across the country, but we got to start over now?" Tyler scoffed  
"It'll be ok" Jordan reassured them, "I believe in what Dad said"  
"He's not our Dad and she's not our Mom" Tyler growled, "and – I don't want to talk about it anymore" he rolled over in bed and turned his back on the other two.

In the other bedroom, Cam and Arastoo lay awake like their sons,  
"Do you think they're right?" Arastoo sighed, "I mean, sure this is different than DC, but what if it's more of the same?"  
"I've lived here for most of my life" she hugged him, "We did ok in Washington. We'll be ok here"  
"Yeah" Arastoo sighed, but he didn't sound convinced.

The next morning, Cam took the boys to the local discount department store. She was prepared with a list, "Let's see here, you'll each need a set of these" Cam looked at the printout list.  
"How come we have to buy so much garbage?" Tyler frowned  
"Teachers aren't paid enough" Cam was matter of fact, "It's more than difficult for them. I know it doesn't make sense now, but we've got to help them out the best we can" she divided the list into four equal parts and sent each boy off to help find the needed school supplies.

Tyler returned with twenty four notebooks, three packages of college-ruled loose leaf paper, six erasers, and six highlghters.  
Isaiah came back with three boxes of black pens, three pencil sharpeners, three rulers and three calculators.

Jordan wasn't back yet.  
"Come on, let's see what's going on" Tyler dumped the items in Cam's shopping cart and ran down the aisle. Isaiah followed him.  
Six glue sticks, three boxes of pencils, a box of dry erase markers, and two packages of tissue lay in disarray on the floor.

"Go on, say it" another boy had Jordan pinned against the wall, next to the bathrooms.  
"Leave me alone" Jordan squirmed  
"Wrong answer" the bigger boy breathed in Jordan's face  
"We got to help him" Isaiah nudged his brother  
"I got a better idea" Tyler ran to the next aisle and soon returned, "Jordan!" he called  
Jordan flinched  
"You forgot the paper towels!" Tyler threw the package so it hit the bigger boy in the face.  
Predictably, he dropped Jordan, who made a dash for his brothers.  
"Let's go get Cam" Isaiah suggested. The other two decided that that was the right plan of action.


	2. Chapter 2

The three brothers raced towards Cam, as she compared among a few packs of colored markers.

"You got to help us" Tyler shouted, "Jordan was getting his butt kicked by the Incredible Bulk"  
"Slow down" Cam deposited some items in the shopping cart, "What's going on?"  
"A big kid grabbed me" Jordan began, "and he started calling me a bunch of names and kept wanting me to say it was true"  
"Let's go see what this kid has to say" Cam pushed the cart towards where Tyler pointed.  
"What's a raghead?" Jordan whispered to Cam.  
Cam shuddered. The world was a different place, and certainly New York had changed, and not for the better, since she'd left and returned.  
"We'll talk about that at home" she explained, "let's find that bully" she went on, "I've got a few words for him, too"  
They soon found the hulking boy in another aisle, staring at backpacks.  
"Did you harass my son?" Cam had a protective hand on Jordan's shoulder. Tyler and Isaiah stood next to her.  
"What's it to you?" the boy glared at her  
"Do you know who I am?" her glare was equally hard  
"A soccer mom with too much time on her hands?" he scoffed  
"Try the Deputy Director of Forensic Biology at the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene", she flashed a badge in his face.  
That got his attention, "You some kind of cop?"  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she gave a wry smile, "Are you going to mess with these kids again?"  
"No" he backed away from the merchandise, "I – I didn't know"  
"And now you do." she glared, "And if I see you troubling any of my children, I'll come find you" she threw daggers from her eyes  
The boy left the aisle and customers could hear his receding footsteps practically running away.  
"Wow, thanks" Tyler looked impressed, "Didn't know you could do that"  
"To tell you the truth" she lowered her voice, "I actually can't, but I don't want anyone messing with you. You've got just as much right to be here as anyone else" she looked from one child to the other, "Do you understand?" she picked the other items from the list and put them in the cart as they walked on  
All three boys nodded solemnly  
"Ok" she finished, "let's ring up these things and get home"

At home that night, it was all the kids could talk about during dinner  
"You should've seen it" Tyler exclaimed, "She got in his face and everything!"  
"And she shoved her badge in his nose!" Isaiah looked impressed  
"Thanks, it really was awesome" Jordan smiled  
"Looks like it's been a productive day" Arastoo laughed, "but I want to make sure you guys are alright"  
"Yeah, we're fine" Tyler shoved a forkful of food in his mouth  
"Really, we're ok" Jordan agreed, "Right Isaiah?"  
"Uh huh" he chugged some milk from his glass.  
"We'll have to discuss this some more" Arastoo gazed at Cam, "after dinner"  
"A family meeting" Cam nodded in agreement

After clearing up the table, the boys jostled each other on the couch while Cam and Arastoo got their attention  
"I heard about how you had a difficult time today at the office supply store" Arastoo began, "and I'm sorry about that"  
"You didn't make a mistake" Jordan piped up  
"True" Arastoo smiled, "but it's something we hoped wouldn't have been a problem"  
"You see" Cam went on, "Back in DC, especially with the people we knew, everyone seemed pretty progressive, inclusive, and accepting, but here-"

"Here" Tyler cut in, "people are racist jerks"  
"Something like that" Arastoo conceded, "and I'd like for us to talk about it"  
"What's to talk about?" Isaiah shook his head, "We're brown kids growing up in a city that never sleeps" he balked, "it's not like we didn't have this sort of trouble back at home"  
"But, things are different here" Cam explained, "and I didn't realize just how different until today" she sighed, "I want to make sure none of you get hurt like that again"  
"We care about you boys quite a bit" Arastoo nodded  
"Sure" Tyler scoffed, "meanwhile, you drag us across the country, and now we're stuck in a place where everyone hates us without knowing who we really are"  
"Then show them who you really are" Arastoo explained, "you see, back when I was working at the Jeffersonian"  
"Not another museum story" Jordan sighed. This was too much, even for him.  
"Hear me out" Arastoo frowned, "when I first started working there, I tried to fake an accent, hoping that maybe it would explain why my faith was important to me" he went on, "except that when Cam found out that I was faking it" he chuckled  
"The point here," Cam finished her husband's explanation, "is that he didn't have to try to be someone else. He could've just been himself" she smiled at him  
"Right" he nodded  
"Oh brother" Isaiah covered his eyes, "just kiss and get it over with!"

"So, you want us to be ourselves?" Tyler questioned, "And what the heck is that?"  
"Well" Arastoo thought aloud, "you're the Saroyan-Vaziri boys" he grinned, "I'm sure you'll figure that out"  
"No, really" Jordan looked confused, "We're from Mississippi" he continued, "and then we were in DC for awhile, and now New York. What we are is confused"  
"Yeah" Tyler nodded, "what he said"  
"What do you guys like to do?" Cam began, "let's talk it through"  
"We like soccer, even though Dad keeps trying to get us into baseball and basketball" Jordan grinned  
"He's not our Dad and she's not our Mom!" Tyler stood up from the couch, "and I'm sick of you acting like nothing's different!"  
"Things are different" Cam stood, facing off Tyler, "we're all feeling it, each of us" she was truthful, "I know you boys are worried about the future, about what might happen at school" she glanced at her husband, "we're just as concerned about ourselves, starting new jobs" she continued, "what might people think about us? Sure, the world's progressed far, but maybe not as far as we might seem"  
"We want you kids to talk to us about concerns, fears, questions you might have" Arastoo agreed.

Cam sat down again.  
"It's not fair" Tyler slumped back down in the couch, "first we get dumped by our real parents, and then we get adopted by the weirdest family possible and get dragged around the country like a traveling circus" he grumbled  
"They're nice" Jordan put in  
"Shut up!" Tyler glared at his brother  
"Alright, that's enough" Cam put her foot down, "Tyler, I know you're upset. No, you don't have to think of me as your mother or Arastoo as your father, but the truth is that we really do care about you three boys." she sighed, "We've moved heaven and earth to help you out, and all you've done so far is be angry and upset"  
"I understand" Arastoo surprised everyone, "Tyler, you're a lot like me when I was young" he went on, "I know, it's not what you wanted. Maybe we're not the adoptive parents you'd hoped for, but we're doing the best that we can, just like I know you all are" he finished, "Maybe you don't want to show respect because you think that we haven't shown you any respect"  
Tyler glared at him  
"But" Arastoo continued, "we wanted you to have something more than what foster care could provide" he sighed, "and we wanted to keep you guys together" he glanced over at Cam, "Maybe I shouldn't tell them" he whispered to his wife  
"Tell us what?" Isaiah looked shocked  
"They don't need to know" she whispered back to Arastoo  
"Come on!" Jordan sat on the edge of the couch seat.  
"We weren't the first couple who wanted you boys" Cam explained, "but, we were the only ones who wanted all three"  
"Wait" Tyler stopped looking angry; now, he looked scared, "They wanted to – split us up?"  
Arastoo nodded solemnly  
"That's not fair!" Tyler yelled  
"It's not" Arastoo was quiet, "I know it's been a lot" he glanced from one boy to the next to the third, "just please know that whatever we did, however we got here, together, Cam and I did it because we care very much about you"  
"Its ok, Dad" Jordan smiled  
This time, Tyler didn't try to correct him.  
"I think it's time for bed, after all this" Cam stood up, "unless someone's interested in dessert"  
A chorus of "I am" came from the four males in the room.  
"Come on" Cam led the way. Arastoo pulled bowls out of the cupboard and a tub of ice cream from the freezer.  
Tomorrow was a new day.  
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be any easier.


End file.
